Sheriff's raid on Days Inn in Phoenix nets 1 identity theft arrest

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office raided a Days Inn hotel in Phoenix, trying to arrest 10 employees on suspicion of identity theft and being in the country illegally.

Deputies arrested one woman on suspicion of aggravated identification theft and forgery at the hotel at Seventh Avenue and Camelback Road on Wednesday morning, but officials said the other nine had not shown up to work.

Deputies are continuing to search for them.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said his office had identified three out-of-state residents whose identities were used by the employees.

Arpaio said the general manager had recently switched the schedule "because of the economy," so the employees were expected to clock in at 10 a.m., two hours later than usual.

Arpaio credited an unnamed source for the "great record keeping" and a "well-documented" report that allowed the MCSO to complete the raid in two months. He said it normally takes six months to investigate such cases.

The next move for the Sheriff's Office is to seek out the remaining nine to serve warrants for their arrests in connection with identity theft and illegal immigration.

The sheriff said those arrested will likely face charges of identity theft before an investigation about their legal status.